Christian Democracy

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy that existed from 1943 to 1994. The party was the informal successor of the Popolari party, and it was a Catholic-inspired centrist party that had both right and left wings. From 1946 to 1994, it was the largest party in parliament, governing in successive coalitions as a liberal-conservative party and later as a center-left party. The party was devastated by a corruption scandal in 1994, and it split into various parties, with former Christian Democrats entering both the conservative Forza Italia and social democratic Democratic Party of Italy parties. The party was a founding member of the European People's Party in 1976.